Mixed-use project proposed next to Oceanside High

ROB O'DELL - Staff Writer

OCEANSIDE -- Belvedere means beautiful view in Italian, but in
downtown Oceanside it could also mean a seven-story, mixed-use
project next to Oceanside High School.

Developer Pacific Crest Investments LLC wants to build a
mid-rise project -- called The Belvedere -- with 26,000 feet of
retail commercial and office space, 51 live/work lofts, and 66
condominiums on the block bounded by Mission Avenue, Horne Street,
Clementine Street, and Seagaze Drive. The property is across Horne
Street and just west of the high school.

The $48 million project is being designed by Oceanside architect
Ken Chriss. The developer will hold a community meeting to discuss
the project from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the community rooms next
to the Oceanside Public Library, 330 N. Coast Highway.

Chriss said the project would transform a parcel that has been
mostly vacant for 30 years into a development that will enhance the
city's image and draw people into the downtown area,

Unlike many of Oceanside's commercial and retail projects,
Chriss said, his building won't serve tourists primarily.

"It will bring people here that stay here," said Chriss, who
owns 4-Design, an architectural firm in Oceanside. "It's not a
vacation rental building. It's for people to live and work
here."

The 1-acre lot slopes 17 feet from Horne Street to Clementine
and is three-quarters vacant, except for a few small houses. The
project is planned to be 73 feet tall at its main entrance on Horne
Street and 90 feet tall on Clementine Street.

The project would feature 367 parking spaces, with most of them
underground and the remaining just above ground inside the
structure. The main parking entrance for the retail and commercial
shops would be off Horne Street, while the residents would enter
off Clementine Street.

The main commercial walking entry to the project would be along
Mission Avenue, with 16,500 feet of commercial space. Above those
shops and above the entrance along Horne would be 46 commercial
live/work lofts with 17-foot arched windows and 700 square feet of
space on the bottom floor and 350 square feet on the top floor.

Above those lofts would be three floors of condominiums ranging
from 1,270 square feet to 2,295 square feet. The condominiums will
have balconies and range from two bedrooms and 2.5 baths to three
bedrooms with 3.5 baths.

Additionally, there will be 4,200 square feet of retail space
along Clementine Street, including a sidewalk cafe. Chriss said the
cafe was one of his favorite parts of the design.

On the fourth floor of the project, the building will be
U-shaped when looking from the west. There will be a pool for those
living in the building.

Hugh Foley, a board member of the Oceanside Coastal Neighborhood
Association, which represents homeowners and some businesses
between downtown and South Oceanside, said:

"It's the type of development we like to see there," Foley said
of the upscale mixed-use building. "Everyone I talked to seemed to
like it."

Foley said the residents appreciated the fact that the building
would provide enough on-site parking so cars wouldn't clutter
surrounding neighborhoods. He also said he liked the lofts, which
are expected to bring in artists.